


Car Accident

by Lastwaterbender



Category: The Martian (2015)
Genre: Beth's mom and sister issue, Car Accident, F/M, family fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 15:02:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5590672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lastwaterbender/pseuds/Lastwaterbender
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beth gets into a car accident while Chris is at a conference in Europe, Mark steps in to take care of her until he comes home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Car Accident

Watney sat in his office solidifying his syllabus for the new astronaut recruits when his phone rang. It was a number that he didn’t recognize, but answered it anyway. “This is Watney.” He said, shuffling through a stack of papers.

“Mr. Watney, my name is Doctor Martins over at Mercy General and I’m calling in regards to Beth Johanssen.” The voice said and for a brief moment, his heart stopped beating.

“Is she okay?” He asked, looking at his watch and groaned to himself, it was going to take forever to get there with traffic.

“She was in a pretty serious car accident. . .” He said and it was like a punch in the gut. He doubled over in his chair and forced himself to breathe. Beck was in Europe speaking at a convention, Beth had stayed home to help him deal with his separation anxiety and now she was in the hospital. “She’s okay. . .”

“Thank god.” He wheezed as he stood up and grabbed his jacket. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

/

It had taken him forty five minutes to get there, traffic was backed up and he had taken every side street to get to the hospital across town. On more than one occasion, he cussed out someone in front of him for going too slow, he was surprised that he didn’t get pulled over for aggressive driving.

He parked the car and trotted inside to the information desk. “I’m looking for the emergency room?” He asked and the older lady smiled and pointed to her right and he trotted down the hall. People gave him looks as he ran down the hall, one look of annoyance and another that recognized him as the one from the TV, but he couldn’t be bothered as he stopped at another reception desk.  “I’m here for Beth Johanssen.”

The man behind the desk looked at him startled. “Beth Johanssen? One moment please.” He said beginning to type quickly on the computer. “And you are?”

Sure the one man on earth who didn’t recognize him. “Mark Watney.” He answered impatiently.

The man looked up with a raised brow. “The astronaut?” He asked, oh so he had heard the name before. “Can I see some ID please?”

He sighed as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulled out his ID and handed it to the man. “Holy shit, you are the astronaut!” The man said with raised eyebrows.

Watney nodded. “Yes, I am. Can I please see Beth Johanssen please?” He asked trying to be patient.

The man nodded and jumped up, he pressed the door button and met Watney on the other side. “Follow me.” He said and he led him down a curtain clad hallway filled with machines and people who were in bad shape. A mother carrying a crying baby, a man sitting next to a bed with his head in his hands and finally at the end of the hall, Beth Johanssen.

She sat with her feet dangling off the side of the bed in a hospital gown. She had a cut on her temple and down her arms, but didn’t look worse for the wear. She looked up at him and her strong façade crumbled as Mark pushed passed the receptionist and into the room, she jumped to her feet and threw her arms around his neck, crying into his shoulder. He held her tightly against him and breathed a sigh of relief.

After a while he pulled back and his hands cupped her neck to look over her injuries. The cut on her temple was stitched up and covered with gauze, she had a black eye starting to form and cleaned cuts visible down her arms, her hands were wrapped with gauze. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He said softly, pulling her back into his arms. “What happened?”

She took a stabling breath and closed her eyes, her hands gripping tightly onto his shirt under his jacket. “The guy ran the red light and t-boned the driver’s side of the car.” She said, it was muffled by his chest. It took another breath before she was able to speak again. “I climbed out the window and went to check on him. . .”

He pressed his lips to the side of her head. “It’s okay.” He whispered.

“The guy wasn’t breathing, the witnesses’ pulled him out and I went to check for a pulse and there was nothing.” She recalled biting her lip. “I started CPR on him and I remember someone shouting that they were on the phone with an ambulance. It all gets a little fuzzy after that, I think I hit my head.”

The pit in his stomach dropped as he held her tightly. “Have you called Chris?” He asked.

She shook her head. “It’s almost one in the morning and . . .” She started before she hiccupped. “I didn’t want to worry him.”

Before Watney could speak, a doctor walked in. “Mr. Watney, I am Doctor Martins, we spoke on the phone briefly.” He introduced, extending his hand for him to shake. He was a bigger man with graying hair and a warm smile. “I have been in charge of Ms. Johanssen’s case.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Watney said softly, shifting his grip on Beth to shake the doctor’s hand. “Tell me the details doctor.”

Dr. Martins nodded and took a seat on the rolling chair and pulled open her file on the computer. “Obviously the visual stuff, she has five stitches on her face. Her hands are pretty cut up as well, we didn’t have to place any sutures, all should heal with minimal scarring. She’s got a pretty good concussion, I’m just waiting for some blood work to get back.” He answered and both of them gave him looks. “It’s standard procedure these days for insurance purposes.”

“What about the other guy?” Asked Beth softly.

The doctor smiled. “You saved his life.” He answered honestly. “He’s in surgery right now, he had suffered a heart attack behind the wheel, EMS said you were doing CPR on him before they took over. They were able to get him stable enough to move him.” The doctor excused himself to go check on her blood results leaving them alone in the room.

Beth gave a heavy sigh and rested her head against Mark’s shoulder and he pulled her closer to him, pressing another kiss to the top of her head. “I’m so glad you’re alright.” He whispered to her.

“I was scared for a bit there.” She whispered honestly before she pulled back. “Thanks for coming all the way out here."

He smiled softly at her. “Of course.” He answered without any smart ass remark, which was a first. “We should call Chris, it will just make him more upset if we don’t.”

She sighed and nodded, a wave of nausea swam through her and she jumped away from Mark to throw up in the waste basket. She groaned, Mark looked over at her wide eyed. “Concussion.” She said when she finished and sat back down on the hospital bed. Mark sat next to her, placing an arm across her shoulders. “I’m sure he will get the email from the car insurance company regarding the claim.”

He chuckled. “That would be a hell of a way to find out.” He answered.

She looked at her bandaged hands. “He’s going to be so angry.” She said heavily, her shoulders slouching.

“No he won’t be.” He responded. “He’s going to be relieved that you are okay. He’s going to be proud that you saved that man’s life. He won’t be angry.”

She smiled softly at Mark again resting her head against him. “I’ll call him once I’m discharged.” She said before she frowned to herself. “I may have to use your phone though, I’m not sure where my belongings ended up.”

“That’s fine.” He answered as the doctor returned with another white robed cladded woman.

Both of them looked up expectantly waiting for the clearance to go home. “Everything looks good for the most part in your blood work. . .” He started and both of them frowned.

“Most part?” Asked Mark, Beth’s hand weaseled its way into his.

Doctor Martins smiled warmly. “I take it that you don’t know that you are pregnant.” He said.

Her eyes widened as she shared a look with Mark, he jumped off the table and threw his arms around her excitedly, both of them momentarily forgetting why they were there as they hugged excitedly. “Pregnant??” Mark cried excitedly.

After a moment, she pulled back with a worried expression. “Wait. It’s going to be okay, right?” She asked, her hand finding Mark’s again.

“This is Doctor Maria Hunter, she’s the on call OBGYN and she’s going to take a look.” Doctor Martin said. “The blood work shows you are pregnant, Doctor Hunter will be able to confirm it and make sure that everything is alright and come up with a plan.”

The younger doctor shook both of their hands, she was about their age with dark hair and glasses, she looked star struck. “It’s great to meet the two of you, the Ares III crew are all my hero.” She said coughing at the flush that filled their faces. “I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Us too, believe me.” Watney said, there was the smart ass they all knew and loved. She motioned for Beth to lay down on the bed and started to prepare her for the examination. “Uh . . . do you want me to leave?”

She paled slightly and reached for his hand, silently pleading with him to stay with her. “If you stand by her head, you won’t see anything.” The doctor said warmly, she knew that Watney wasn’t the father. She actually followed up on their stories when it hit the news stand from the moment they were chosen to go into space and knew that while they were in space Beth Johanssen and Chris Beck fell in love, every shippers dream. “Now Beth, we are going to do an ultrasound and then an exam, just to make sure everything is okay.” She nodded.

Mark awkwardly moved to Beth’s head and took her hand inside of his. The doctor laid a blanket over her lap and then pushed up her gown to expose her stomach. Mark closed his eyes, his cheeks flushed, this was more of her than he had ever planned on seeing. She gasped and his eyes flew open in concern. “What’s wrong?” He asked, scanning her for pain, blood or discomfort.

She looked up at him with a smile. “It’s cold.” She said and Mark realized that the doctor had rubbed a clear gel on her bare stomach.

Mark squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry! I forgot to warn you.” Apologized the doctor as she pressed the wand into her stomach and both of them looked to the screen for any indication that there was anything growing inside of her. After a moment of breath holding, a small white bean looking thing came onto the screen. “There it is. There’s your baby.”

She gasped and her free hand covered her mouth as tears began to stream down her face again. Mark was struck at the image on the screen. He ran his hand through his hair excitedly before placing an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tightly to his side. “Is it okay?” Mark asked. He wished Chris was here, to look over the ultrasound himself to make sure that it was okay. For now he had to trust this doctor and be strong for Beth who was trembling next to him.

The doctor smiled warmly at both of them and pointed at the screen with her free hand. “That’s the fetal heartbeat right there, it’s reading at about 100 beats per minute-which is a little high but well within the normal range from the looks of it, it looks healthy.” She announced and Mark leaned over to pull Beth into a tighter hug. She cried into his shoulder, the baby was okay at the moment. “If I had to guess, you’re roughly eight weeks along, putting your due date at the beginning of September.”

“That makes sense.” Beth muttered to herself, gaining looks from both the doctor and Mark. “I’ve been exhausted to the point of barely functioning for the last couple of days and I can’t remember the last time. . .” She looked at Mark and stopped talking, the doctor understood what she meant.

Mark looked between the two of them wide eyed. “Chris is going to be mad if I don’t ask, but are you sure everything is okay?”

 “She wasn’t hit head on, which is probably what made this a better outcome. At first glance, she is not bleeding and I don’t see abruption to the placenta which is common with car accidents. You’ll need to rest for a couple of days and you will have to see an OBGYN every couple of days to make sure things are going alright.” She answered as she pressed a couple of buttons and printed a copy of the ultrasound. She wiped off the goo from her stomach and pulled her gown down. He nodded at the instructions as she handed him the print out of the fetus.

“Thank you Doctor.” Beth said when she finally gained control of her emotions.

She nodded with a soft smile. “Not a problem. I will let you get dressed and we will talk about discharging you.”

She pulled Mark back into a hug, sobbing into his chest. He held her close, tears too falling from his eyes in relief.

/

It was another two hours before she was able to be discharged.

Doctor Hunter sent her home with a list of instructions since she wasn’t able to take any strong medication for pain which included a ton of rest and a nice shower. Beth and Mark also shook hands with the staff and signed a couple of autographs before they exited through the doors.

The late February sun had set hours ago, leaving them to cross the parking lot by street lamp. They climbed into Mark’s car and sat there for a minute to digest what had happened over the last few hours. She took a heavy sigh and looked at the picture in her hand. The baby, now the size of a blueberry, was growing inside of her and was healthy. She looked at Mark, who smiled proudly at her. “I’m having a baby.” She said the words out loud, making it real.

“Chris is going to be so excited.” He said happily. Her face fell, oh Chris. She reached into the bag of her belongings for her purse. Her phone was at the bottom of the bag, undamaged but dead.  He reached into his front pocket and handed her his phone, she looked at it and frowned. “I will wait until we get home.”

Mark nodded and put the car into gear. He knew that she needed a moment to plan what she was going to say to Chris. He started the car and started the drive back to their side of the town.

The ride was in silence, save for when Mark pulled into a drive thru and ordered themselves some dinner. When they reached home, a four bedroom house with a basement apartment for the sake of Mark living with them semi permanently, they took a seat at the counter and she pressed the Facetime button.

It rang in its Apple Trademarked ring before he answered. “Mark? Do you even know what time it is?” He grumbled. It was early in London, like nearing 4 am early. “Beth?” He asked sleepily, he reached over and turned the light on. That woke him up, his eyes widened at the bandage on the side of her head.

“Are you okay? What’s going on?” He asked, his eyes wide as he tried to comprehend what was going on. He recognized the lighting in their kitchen and the blinking of the ceiling fan.

She took a stabling breath, the sudden urge to cry again was strong. Mark placed a hand on her arm to still her. “I was in a car accident.” She said.

“What happened?” He asked in a panic and she looked away ashamed, only to set his panic through the roof. “Beth? What’s wrong, what happened?”

Mark took the phone from her before Chris spontaneously combusted. “She was t-boned by someone having a heart attack.” He answered for her, she looked at him and mouthed a thank you to him. “She’s got a pretty nasty looking cut on her face, a mild concussion, and her hands are bandaged all to hell from them pulling out glass.” 

A sigh of relief escaped Chris’ lips and a hand went through his hair and Mark turned the screen so that she could see him again. “I’m okay.” She said, her voice in a higher pitch than normal. “The car is totaled though.”

“It’s okay, we can get a new one. You’re okay and that’s all that matters.” He said softly, mentally cursing that he wasn’t there with her. “Thank you Mark for taking care of her.”

He turned the camera to face him. “Not a problem, buddy.” He said with a smile. “You should be proud of her, she did CPR on the guy for a few minutes before the paramedics showed up. He was breathing on his own when they hauled him in. He’s in stable condition right now.”

Chris looked at her with a proud smile. “I am proud of you, Beth.”

Mark looked at her and gave her thigh a squeeze, encouraging her to tell him the good news. “Oh.” Beth said as an afterthought. “And I’m pregnant.”

The color from his face drained. “Pregnant?” He asked for clarification.

A smiled came to her face as she nodded. Mark held out the sonogram for him to see the blurry peanut shape that was going to be his child. “Yeah, about 8 weeks. I won’t know for sure until my doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”

“Is everything okay?” He asked in a panicked tone.

She nodded. “Everything is okay.” She responded. “I have been put on a lot of bedrest, prenatal vitamins, and close contact with an OBGYN for the next few weeks, but the doctor was positive.”

Chris was silent for a few minutes and both Mark and Beth gave him that moment to gather his thoughts. It was early in London and they had just woke him up. “Oh my god we’re having a baby!” He whispered to himself mostly. He looked back into the camera as Beth wiped another tear from her eyes.

“Yes we are!” She cried softly and Mark took it as his cue to leave. He stood up from the stool, cleaning up his dinner wrapper, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he disappeared down the stairs into his apartment.

He changed into his pajamas and took a seat on his couch to watch TV, pulling out his tablet to email NASA that he was going to take a few days off to care for Beth until Chris came home. He flipped through the channels and settled on the classic movie channel, Airforce One was playing.

He didn’t know how long he had been watching the movie when he heard Beth come down the stairs. Her hair was pulled back and she wore her pajamas, his phone in her hand. “Thank you.” She said coming around the couch to hand it to him.

He moved the pillow that sat next to him and motioned for her to join him. She took a seat right next to him and he wrapped his arms tightly around him as she snuggled into his side. “Everything okay?” He asked.

She reached behind her and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and nodded as she covered her legs. “Yeah, he wanted to come home.” She said with a yawn, she rested her head against him. “I told him that I was okay and that his presentation was today, which would be big for his career.”

Mark chuckled. “I bet he took that well.”

“I told him that you were taking good care of me and that I promise that I will follow the doctor’s orders until he comes home.” She replied. “He said that he would make me an appointment for tomorrow at Johnson.”

“At Johnson?” He asked, he didn’t think that the NASA hospital would have someone on staff that dealt with babies.

She nodded. “Doctor Barnes is the resident lady parts doctor.” She answered sarcastically. “She’s the same one who prodded Melissa and me for two days before our IUD’s were placed.”

He understood. He remembered that both of the female crewmembers had fallen off the place of the earth for a few days to run some ‘tests’ regarding their menstrual cycles and their astronaut training. It was the same post mission, Beth seemed to really like the woman for someone who prodded their parts. “She’s probably the best person for the job because of all that I went through in space and it would be an excellent research opportunity.”

Mark gave her a look with a raised brow. “You’ve been around Chris way too long.” He said with a chuckle.

She held her hands up defensively. “It’s his words, not mine!” She defended and chuckled. Another yawn escaped her lips.

“Ready for bed?” Mark asked soberly.

She nodded. “Can I stay with you tonight?” She asked and he nodded, turning the TV off as she got up and padded towards his room. Secretly he was glad that she asked, because he probably would have slept knowing that he could have lost her.

To anybody on the outside, they would find their relationship odd. Mark’s PTSD came in waves and some days were worse than others. He had gotten better sleeping on his own as long as someone was in the house with him, but when they had gotten home he had slept many nights cuddled against Beth and sometimes even Chris shared a bed with him.

That night they slept peacefully.

/

Chris was a ball of nerves.

He was presenting at the World Health Organization Symposium that was held in London this year about the changes the body goes through while in outer space, but how was he supposed to concentrate when his wife calls to inform him that she was in a car accident.

Oh, and found out that she was pregnant.

Excitement ran deep inside him as did worry.

He spent the majority of the morning researching about motor vehicle accidents and pregnancies, and it had only stressed him out. He called his colleague Doctor Sandra Barnes back in Johnson at almost 10:30 at night to get her opinion on the subject. She had assured him that if nothing had happened in the first few hours after an accident, the baby would be okay as long as the mother took things easily. She also accepted an appointment for Beth in the morning after assuring him that as long as she doesn’t start cramping, she would be okay until she saw Beth in the morning.

“Doctor Beck, we are ready for you.” Said a voice from the doorway and he took a deep breath. “You ready?” It was one of the organizers who smiled politely to him.

He nodded. “Ready as I will ever be.”

/

Two days later Beth and Mark stood side by side at Houston International Airport for Chris to get home after stopping at her doctor’s appointment which had the same results regarding the health of the baby. It would be fine. As well as a list of ‘demands’ for her to start right away in order for the baby to remain fine.

First on the list was coffee. Straight cold turkey coffee.

Second: She needed to sleep more. Already in the past three days, Mark had caught her dozing at her desk, or on the couch or wherever and she blamed it on the lack of coffee.

Thirdly: She needed to keep Chris and his ‘new dad syndrome” under control. She was scheduled for an appointment every other day for the next two weeks to make sure everything was going to be okay and the doctor worried that Chris was going to hover to the point where it was going to drive them nuts.

Fourthly: Morning sickness. That is all. She had spent the majority of the morning throwing up and the doctor had assured her that it was normal.

They had taken off the bandages on her hands, she would have to get the stitches out of her face taken out next week.

Now they waited side by side next to the exit where people getting off of international flights came through security. She was bouncing on her heels waiting for him and after what felt like an eternity, she saw his nearly six foot tall frame. Dropping her bag, she wove through the crowd of people and threw herself into his waiting arms.

His carry on dropped to the floor as he caught her, pressing her tightly to him, spinning around and laughing happily before kissing her deeply. He set her down and his face turned to worry when he saw the stitches in her face, his hand went to examine it and she caught his hand before placing it on her flat stomach.

His smile lit up the room as they shared excited whispers and another kiss.

Watney watched the very movie-esqe scene before him, picking up her bag and wandering over to the pair that was clearly making a scene. People had recognized them, but they didn’t seem to care. “Welcome home, buddy!” Mark said.

Chris pulled him into a hug. “Good to be home! Thanks for taking care of Beth.”

“Not a problem.” He said as they broke apart and they realized that they had attracted a crowd. “Come on, let’s grab your bag and get out of here.”

He agreed, picking up his carry on and placing an arm around Beth’s shoulders as they walked to the luggage carousel. As they waited for his bag, Chris pressed a kiss to the top of Beth’s head as she buried her face into his shoulder. “I missed you.” She whispered against him.

“I missed you too.” He said as he held her tightly. “Everything is going to be alright.”

She nodded against him, but didn’t say anything, she was content to be in his arms. Mark and Chris chatted easily as they waited for his bag. “I filed the insurance claim for you, you’ll probably receive a call sometime tomorrow.” Mark said to Chris.

Chris nodded. “Thank you.” He said softly as to not startle the dozing woman in his arms. He moved to grab his bag, but she refused to let him go with a groan. Mark chuckled as he stepped up to grab the black bag.

“I haven’t had coffee in two days.” She groaned. “I don’t know if I can handle this.”

He pressed a kiss to the side of her head as they started the trek back to the car. “I’m sure if you can survive in space for three years with shitty coffee, you can handle seven months without it.” He answered and she groaned again. “On the bright side, the exhaustion should go away soon.”

“Chris, I love you but seriously. . .” She threatened but came out empty, a yawn taking away her threat. Both men chuckled and she glared at them.

“Come on, you need a nap.” Chris said affectionately. He kissed her softly as they reached the car and he held the door open for her to climb inside.

She was asleep before they excited the parking garage. “Has she like this for a while?” Chris asked quietly from the backseat of the car.

Mark shrugged. “More so that we have found out that she’s pregnant and had stopped drinking coffee, but I hadn’t noticed it before.” Mark explained, he didn’t question her weird sleeping schedule. “She noticed though.”

He nodded, making mental clinical notes. “Everything go okay with Doctor Barnes today?” He asked, knowing full well if he asked Beth, she would roll her eyes and say that he was hovering.

“She did an ultrasound, you know the one that goes inside. . .” He winced at the thought of it, being a woman was gross. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone as he pulled the car to a stop at a red light, he hit the photo app and handed it him. Chris hit play and the familiar rhythmic sound of fetal heart rate came out of the phone. The screen showed the little ventricles fluttering along with the sound as well as a soft gasp from Beth, Mark turned the camera to look at her and she had a hand covering her mouth and tears streaming down her face. ‘ _There’s you’re baby, Beth.’_

“Wow.” Chris said to himself as he played it again.  “This is unreal.”

Mark nodded in agreement. “Doctor Barnes puts the due date at the beginning of September.” He answered. “She’s got another appointment the day after tomorrow and she suspects that she should be good until her twelve week appointment.”

“Thanks Mark for taking care of her this week. Seriously I don’t know what I would have done. . .” Chris said sincerely.

“You both came back and rescued me from Mars and let me live with you because I cannot handle living on my own, it’s the least I can do.” Mark said lightly, looking in the mirror at him sitting in the backseat.

Chris smiled. “You know we don’t expect any recompense from you, right?” He asked with a raised brow. “We went back for you and let you live with us because we love you.”

Mark shrugged, they had this conversation probably once a month when Mark’s PTSD flared up. “I get dibs on being godfather.” He answered.

Chris clasped him on the shoulder, a bright smile on his face. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He said.

/

Once they reached home and Beth into bed, both Mark and Chris sat on the couch flipping through the channels when Chris’ phone vibrated.

It was a screen cap of a headline from TMZ sent from Martinez. **_Is the Hermes six becoming the Hermes seven??_ **_A touching scene at Houston International today sparks new rumors that Chris Beck and Beth Johanssen-Beck are expecting their own little astronaut, more details soon. . ._

Followed by his response. “ _Is there something you would like to share with the class?”_

Chris showed Mark and he started to laugh. “Oh this is bad.” Chris said to himself. “My sister reads TMZ, religiously.”

“Good luck man, you’re on your own for this one.” Mark said as Chris got up and went up to his bedroom. A bleary eyed looking Beth was sitting cross legged in the middle of their bed talking to someone on Facetime.

“. . . I just found out a couple of days ago, Melissa. Chris just came home today, there must have been some paparazzi or something at the airport.” She looked up at him as he crossed the floor and took a seat next to her on the bed. “We haven’t had a chance to tell anybody yet.”

She glared playfully at both of them. “I’ll let it slide this time, hey Chris!” She said happily. She had moved to upstate New York with her husband and commuted back to Johnson Space Center one week a month. “Congratulations.”

He smiled at her. “Thanks.” He answered, pressing a proud kiss to the side of Beth’s head. “I take it you Martinez’s text was a group text?”

Lewis nodded. “I had to find out for myself, but I see you both have a lot to talk about.” She answered. “I will talk to you both later.”

They said their goodbyes and Chris shifted so that he was sitting in front of Beth. “I was just coming to tell you.” He said. “But apparently Melissa beat me to it.”

“She’s not the only one. . .” She smiled at him and showed him the call history, she had two missed calls one from Annie Montrose and one from Martinez himself. “We better start making phone calls.”

His phone rang, it was from him mother. “Ready?” He said breathlessly.

She nodded as he pressed the video chat button. “Hi mom.” He said and for about a minute neither Chris nor Beth were able to get a word in edgewise. Nor Chris’ father, Robert for that matter. When she finally stopped screaming, she looked at the pair expectantly.

“Sorry mom, we haven’t had a chance to tell you. . .” Chris started and looked to Beth. “We just found out on Wednesday while I was in London.”

His mom started up again excitedly prattling off on how excited she was, but how disappointed she was because they didn’t tell her first thing, but she had forgiven them all in the span of one breath. “Sharon, you need to breathe before you pass out.” Robert said to her and she excused herself out of the view of the camera. “Don’t worry about her, she’ll calm down eventually. We’re just so happy for you guys.”

“Thanks Dad.” Chris said as Beth’s phone started to ring again. “Listen we’ve got a lot of phone calls to make, I will call you guys later.”

Robert nodded and disappeared from the screen as Annie Montrose’s name appeared on the screen again. Beth answered it before Chris’ phone started to ring again. “We’re going to have to split up.” He said to her and she nodded. Chris got up and walked to his office so that they could hear the other line. “Hey Rick, yeah TMZ got it right this time. . .”

/

He returned an hour later and she was just hanging up the phone. To say that she looked exhausted was an understatement, she tossed her phone and rubbed her eyes. “I just got off the phone with Annie.”

His eye brows shot up in surprise. “Only Annie?” He asked, climbing into bed with her. He gathered her up into his arms as they slide down into their spots.

“Apparently we created a ‘shit storm’ for her or something, I stopped listening.” She said, pulling the blanket up around them. “She’s going to release our official . . .” She yawned. “Statement tomorrow, so that will get people off of our backs for a while.”

“Good.” He said with a smile, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I just got a call from my sister and I got a congratulations email from Teddy Sanders and Vincent Kapoor, both warning me about Annie. I’m sure you were on the same email. I also got a call from the insurance company, they classified the car as totaled, they are working with the other insurance company and they will get us a check early next week for a new car.”

She nodded and closed her eyes. “My parents called while I was on the phone with Annie.” She said softly.

Chris tightened his grip on her. “Did you answer?” He asked, she hadn’t seen or heard from her parents in a long time. Her dad flew out to visit them a couple of months ago, but she hadn’t seen or heard from her mother or sister since their wedding.

Beth shook her head. “I’ll talk to them eventually.” She said with a heavy sigh. “I don’t want them to upset me, I just want to be happy for a while.”

“Then let us be happy.” He said kissing her on the forehead. “You need to get some sleep.”

She pouted her lips. “I’ve been asleep for the last three days! I don’t know if I can survive 7 more months without coffee!”

He kissed her pouty lips and smiled. “It will get better once you get into your second trimester.” He said and she glared at him. “It’s true! Your body. . .”

“You’re such a doctor.” She scoffed and buried her face into his chest. “I’m too tired to learn what the joys my body is about to experience.”

A chuckle escaped his lips as her breathing evened out and she had fallen asleep against him. She fell asleep against him and he ran his fingers through her hair. He couldn’t be happier than he was at that moment. He couldn’t wait to hear the heartbeat for himself and to find out if he was going to have a little boy or a little girl. He couldn’t wait to see her body grow to accommodate their child and then for it to arrive.

It wasn’t long after he had fallen asleep.

/

Mark walked up the stairs in search of Beth and Chris to see what their plans for dinner were going to be. He pushed their door open when he was met with silence to see both of them unconscious in the bed, one from jetlag and the other was pregnancy.

Beth’s phone lit up in the dark as someone started to call. Mark crossed the room and picked up her phone to silence its vibrating. He looked at the screen and it showed multiple miss calls from Dad, Mom and Shanna, he glared at the thoughts of her family and he shut off her phone.

He walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

With a shrug of his shoulders, he picked up his phone and placed an order for pizza. They’d get some when they woke up.


End file.
